LD, some info from George at Agrowinn: 1 cu.yard = about 1400 lbs of Pure Worm-Castings. We sell in 2000 lbs totes (800.-) and can truck anywhere. Need the Zip Code for trucking quote and if there is a liftgate required if no forklift on site of delivery. JaK
Hmmmm. I too am going to have a go with coco for my 2nd indoor foray. I have been leaning toward the air pots rather than the smart pots but I don't think they will wick as well... I had been hoping to stay on top of the watering issues by pruning like Atilla the Hun. Maybe the smart pots would be wiser... I know they're cheaper but I was really digging the whiz-bang factor of those air pots. Well, I've already ordered a few of the 1L. air pots. If they prove too difficult to keep watered I can always transplant into a slightly larger smartie. Can't wait for the things to arrive so I can get this thing up and running
Bob, in the beginning of my grow, I needed to water about every 2 days or so. Then I figured I was watering rather lightly because I never had any run off. My wife began watering for me and put about a quart on them every 2-3 days. They do dry fast, but I think it is an advantage if you are around to keep an eye on them. I have one of the water meters to tell if they are dry and I use in "religiously" though I don't attend church services. I like my Airpots. I have the 2.4 L ones. I can't wait to harvest and inspect the root ball. I am very curious as to the size compared to my last grows with round, plastic pots. Now towards harvest, there were days my plant was going through nearly a quart a day for about 5 days. Now, she has satiated her thirst and has slowed quite a bit. Anyway, I have two more in Airpots just getting started. So far I like them. I would like to try the Smart Pots as well some time, but these Airpots are great for cleaning up and going on to the next grow. You just unroll, wash and soap, put back together and fill'er up. PEace. JaK
people have been having good luck with the air pots if they plug the top 2 or 3 rows of holes from the top....prevents alot of run off..quality of my buds has improved with smarties..but maybe just learnin''..i twaek so many things is hard ta narrow down whats doin what sometimes..i run coco...so i water every day and no flushing..lazy maybe...but it works great....drip feed would be great
Deacon, this is my second grow where I have essentially used the same amendments, but a bit different blend of Organic Potting soils. Another thing I did was only waited about 2 weeks on cooking my soil before putting the girls in it. Hoping they adapt and everything is OK. This one I also put in some SCD BioAg/Aloe Vera Juice and a FPE from Alfalf Sprouts Seeds about 3-4 days before transplant tool place. Of course, I logged none of this so this tweaking and that tweaking are going unrecorded. I gotta get that down - recording waterings, feedings, etc, until I hit a great grow and stick with it. I guess, overall though, I am using the same stuff just differing amounts. BTW, I like the watering daily or every other day. I get to say HI, more often and a little water at a time is better than the big waterings in my opinion, especially when you know it is surely drying out enough. JaK
I've been using smartpots for 2 grows now, haven't tried the airpots due to cost considerations. I had better success with my smartpots after I put a drainpan under the smartpot. When watering, I like to have about 1-2" of water drain out into the drainpan. The plant then typically sucks it back up overnight, in fact, I never had standing water in the drainpan by the next morning. I was finding that it was difficult to get the rootball adequately wetted with normal watering. And when you have 12 plants in 15 gallon smartpots, watering can take freaking forever. The drainpans really helped with that particular situation
Mr. LD, I love to read your posts sir, as always, spot on and useful. Thanks to your continued efforts to enlighten the masses. GG1
Let me begin this by admitting I'm asking a non-organic question in an organic grow thread, but it seems to contain the most qualified information on air pots so, with your forgiveness, I'm going to let it rip. I have a cheese clone in a 1L. air pot filled with a coco/perlite/worm castings/domolite blend. It's in a pc tower under 76 watts 6500K cfl. 18-6. feeding every watering with 5ml grow big/1tsp epsom/gal aged tap (I think there's quite a bit of Ca in my water) Ph'ed to about 5.8. She averages about 300 ml of solution per watering, usually at a frequency of 48-72 hrs. She's been in the pot/case about a month and I've pruned/LST'ed fairly aggressively. She's about ready for the switch to flower. In the last week I've noticed a considerable salt buildup at 90% of the air portals (side, not bottom whatsoever) in the pot, and I want to give her her first good flush. My question is, throughout her vegging I've attempted to water to the point "just" before runoff. Maybe 25% of the time I've overwatered (by my goals) to 15-30ml runoff. On each occasion of runoff, all my excess has drained from the bottom of the air pot. Will a flush by top watering continue to drain from the bottom? Will this inhibit the salt removal from the air portals? Do you think I should flush by submersion? Thanks in advance for any feedback/advice offered.
Not to leave a brother hanging and I don't know a whole lot about these flushing tasks per se. I think you should flush as is normally recommended for non-organic grows, 2 - 3 times the normal amount of irrigation and until it runs freely from the holes in the bottom of the container. Seems the general goal of flushing is to wash everything and loddy doddy out of the soil. Flushing by submersion is not going to get the job done IMO. Not based on any specific science or anything, just generally guessing based on how water flows through soil, gravity, hydraulics and vacumn, etc. Flush it, don't hold it down and drown it. Make sense?
Hi Bob, welcome! I'd say go ahead and give er a dunk in plain r/o'd h2o and let her soak for a little while. for future waterings you can probably cut the epsom(magnesium sulfate), you shouldn't need to give that continuously. maybe check out something like liquid kelp/fish hydrolysate and sul po mag as an alternative, should help eliminate that salt buildup in your pots and help keep your medium nice and healthy. as far as others watering their smartpots or airpots, i've had good success filling a big plastic bin with 2-3 inches of good water and floating my smartpots in it like little boats. within an hour or two the soil is completely soaked, and i mean completely soaked with none of those annoying dry spots that can drive you crazy. you can then remove the pots and place em where they can drain, the action of the water draining through the soil will help to suck more o2 down into the root zone. with good soaks like this you can really reduce your watering frequency and give the soil a chance to dry out in between. give it a shot, see how your girls like it
i haven't read through all the posts here, but i'm VERY curious about the Air Pots. the idea makes perfect sense but i've heard from a very trusted source that you end up having to trim the roots and open yourself up to root rot and other root problems. i go outdoor and am getting my stuff together now. if you have used Air Pots outdoors please let me know your experience. ps. the person who told me this was going to make money off my purchase, so that gives me a little extra faith in what they say. thanks.
what up mudfingers airpots and smartpots "air prune" the plants, that is- plants roots will not/do not like to grow into an environment high in C02. when a plant's root pokes out the side of the container, the root stops growing outwards and branches out laterally. this happens all over the rootball creating roots that literally fill every inch of the container. the only time i've had roots pop out of mine was on the bottom as they sat on the ground, i placed 'em on a little rack where air could circulate around 'em and the roots had sucked back into the pots overnight. if someone had a problem with root rot or pythium while using smartpots or airpots it's highly likely that they over-watered. that's about the only way i could see that happening, because those pots help create some of the healthiest rhizospheres i've ever seen! i'm fully convinced i'll never grow in hard sided containers again, smart pots or terra firma till i die
Really digging my air pot. Although next time I think I'll try it without using perlite. I think the coco in the air pot is airy enough. If I leave out the perlite I'll be able to get away with longer periods between watering. I mixed about 20% perlite in my coco for this grow.
Iv done alot of reading but dont ever see anyone explain how the airpot truly works ( or not that iv seen ) maybe people will have different veiws but i think they work great , The way the air pot works is by guiding the roots to the air holes ( leakage holes ) instead of spiraling your roots straight to the bottom like a normal pot , soon as the tip of the root hits the air the tip dies , this sends a reaction to the roots way back towards the plant , the root starts steming out reaching for new avenues , as the root mass grows and more and more tips hit our leakage holes this starts a chain reaction and the " steming " of our plants accelerates at a rapid rate , just about to start my 4th grow with these things , tad messy and a little more hands on with you watering ( slow and steady ) , but that's the fun , the more time i spend with my baby's the better haha